BEHAVIORAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING CERTIFICATION WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW and FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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1 When did the BA Training Certification Program become operational? In December of 2008, the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services announced that the initiation of Behavioral Assistant Training Certification program would begin in January The certification and training curriculum was designed in response to long-standing and consensus concerns from families, providers, and advocates about the quality of BA services. DCBHS recognizes its role in helping to ensure that Behavioral Assistants are prepared to provide quality services to the youth and their families that they serve. What are the target dates for a BA to become certified? BAs hired on or before November 1, 2009, must become Training Certified by May 1, BAs hired November 2, 2009, or later must become Training Certified within 6 months of their hire date. What is the process to become BA Training Certified? There are three components to the Training Certification process. The first component is live training. UBHC offers a BA Training Certification Orientation as well as six additional trainings to support BAs in achieving Training Certification. Attendance at live trainings is tracked in the BA Online Training Certification file, set up by the individual BA by going to clicking on BA Certification, clicking on New BA Registration, filling out the online form and clicking Submit. Once a BA attends all required trainings, their supervisor, who must be a BA Superuser, verifies their attendance electronically in the BA s online Training Certification File, preferably after training have been attended by the BA. BA supervisors MUST attend the full day BA Services Orientation in order to be able to access the BA Training Certification Online System. BAs should begin attending trainings as soon as they are hired in order to meet the certification requirements within six months of their hire date. They may be attended in any order. If a BA has attended one of the required trainings within two years of their hire date and can provide verification of their attendance, i.e., their Certificate of Attendance, that training can count toward their BA Training Certification. The required trainings are: Behavioral Assistance Services Orientation Developmental Tasks of Childhood and Adolescence DSM-IV Infusing Practice With Cultural Competence NJ Wraparound Values and Principles Safety Issues Working in the Community One of these three Positive Behavior Support Trainings: o Positive Behavior Support o Working With Challenging and Aggressive Behaviors o Supporting Youth With Autism, Asperger s and Other Social- Communication Challenges The second component is core competency. Page 1 of 5

2 BAs must meet all thirteen (13) core competencies delineated within five (5) identified core competency categories, those categories are: Communication Collaboration Ability to Implement the Behavioral Assistance Individualized Service Plan (BAISP) Cultural Competence Family Friendliness Each individual core competency is verified, entered and tracked electronically in the BA s Training Certification File by the clinical supervisor. Each individual core competence should be entered on line as soon as possible after the supervisor observes them. The third component is an online, thirty (30) question multiple-choice review. If a BAs score on the online review is 70% or higher, they will then be considered BA Training Certified. If a BA s score is between 60% and 69%, they will be advised to review their training materials and retake the review. If after a second attempt, the BA s score remains between 60% and 69% OR if after a first attempt a BAs score is below 60%, the BA and their supervisor will be advised to contact Antoinette Gurden to discuss the BAs scores on individual content areas. The BA and supervisor will be asked to develop a plan to ensure that the BA receives further training on content areas they missed on the online review. The plan may include the BA attending specific live trainings again AND/OR the BA reviewing training content with their supervisor. Once the plan has been carried out, the BA and their supervisor will be advised to contact Antoinette Gurden at gurdenal@umdnj.edu in order to attempt the online review again. Are BAs required to be re-certified? Yes, all BAs are required to be re-certified annually. There are two (2) components to the training recertification process. The first component is live training. BAs must attend one training from a current list of BA Training Recertification courses listed in the UBHC Training Catalog. Once a BA has attended the live training, their supervisor must electronically verify their attendance at that training on the on line system. Trainings may be attended within 90 days of the BAs expiration date in order to count toward recertification. The second component is core competency. The BAs supervisor must electronically verify in the BAs Training Certification online file that the BA continues to meet all core competencies. Once the supervisor verifies all the core competencies and the training attendance, the BA will be recertified for one year. Page 2 of 5

3 I m getting my MSW. Can I substitute some of the required BA Training Certification trainings for the courses I m taking in my Master s program? UBHC does not have the resources to review outside curricula to ensure that it meets the DCBHS requirements. Also, the review for certification is based solely on the trainings offered through DCBHS, and the questions are for the most part made up by the individual trainers of those required courses. Are any of the trainings available online or on CDs? DCBHS specifically requested UBHC to provide live trainings. There are CDs available for several of the trainings that UBHC may be able to provide to supervisors to assist BAs in reviewing training material if necessary. Please contact Antoinette Gurden at gurdenal@umdnj.edu for information. I work full-time. Can any of the trainings be offered on weekends or evenings? Saturday trainings are available due to the high demand. Please check the training website at least monthly to see when they will be available. UBHC may discontinue this practice if participation is low. UBHC does not offer any evening trainings at this time. Many of their venues close at the end of business and are not available for evening trainings. The website only shows trainings for the following month. Is there any way we could get the schedule further in advance for planning purposes? The schedule is posted on the 15 th of every month for the following month. Due to the logistics of securing trainers and venues, it is not possible to confirm training dates and locations further out than that. Can I go through the BA Training Certification program even if I m not working as a BA right now? The BA Services Orientation and the other 6 required courses are open to anyone. If you are planning on working as a BA in the near future, it may be helpful to get a head start on the certification process. However, you will not be able to take the online review, and therefore become certified, without a supervisor to verify and sign off on the core competencies and the training participation. Do I have to go to the BA Services Orientation before I attend any of the other required trainings? The required trainings can be attended in any order that is convenient for you. Page 3 of 5

4 I attended Cultural Competence sometime last year. Do I have to take it again? If you have taken any of the required trainings within the last 2 years and your supervisor can verify your attendance, it may count toward your certification. I am a clinical supervisor. Which trainings do I have to go to? Supervisors must attend the full day BA Services Orientation. You will not be able to register your BAs in the online BA Training Certification system unless you attend this training. How do I register for BA Trainings? You register the same way you would register for any other DCBHS training. Go to Once there, click on the blue shaded box that says Online Training Registration. Where are the trainings offered? All required trainings, including the BA Services Orientation, are offered regionally throughout the state. Throughout the year, training locations rotate through the northern, central, and southern regions. I don t see any of the BA Trainings on the website except for the BA Training Certification Orientation series. Other than the Orientations, the other required trainings are open to all system partners and not specifically labeled as BA trainings, however, there is a search function on the registration website. Choose Behavioral Assistance from the dropdown menu in the search field to search for trainings required for Behavioral Assistance Training Certification. I work as a BA for two different agencies. Which supervisor verifies my training attendance and Core Competencies? In response to feedback received from supervisors, the online system will be set up so that BOTH supervisors can verify training attendance and core competencies. Once ONE supervisor verifies both your training attendance and your core competencies, you will be able to take the online review. What is a BA Superuser and why should I become one? An individual who is clinically licensed. If you supervise BAs and you want them to become BA Training Certified, you will need to be able to establish an online BA Superuser file, assign your BAs to your staff list, and electronically verify BAs attendance at live trainings and core competencies. BAs cannot be BA Training Page 4 of 5

5 Certified without being assigned to a supervisor and having their supervisor verify training attendance and core competencies. Agencies may designate one or more persons to be BA Superusers. How do I become a BA Superuser? In order to be a BA Superuser, you must meet all DCBHS requirements for BA supervision, and you must attend the FULL DAY BA Training Certification Orientation. At the BA Superuser Orientation, supervisors will receive instruction on how to access the online BA Training Certification System and monitor their BAs progress toward BA Training Certification or Recertification. Page 5 of 5